1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in high temperature electronics. The demands for high-performance power electronics systems are surpassing the power density, efficiency, and reliability limitations defined by the intrinsic properties of silicon (Si) based semiconductors and traditional silicon packaging solutions. The advantages of silicon carbide (SiC) are well known, including high temperature operation, high voltage blocking capability, high speed switching, and high energy efficiency. These advantages, however, are severely limited by conventional power packages, particularly at temperatures higher than 175° C. and >100 kHz switching speeds.
2. Description of the Known Art
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, power circuits are known in various forms. Patents disclosing information relevant to power modules or packages include: U.S. Pat. No. 7,687,903, issued to Son, et al. on Mar. 30, 2010 entitled Power module and method of fabricating the same; U.S. Pat. No. 7,786,486 issued to Casey, et al. on Aug. 31, 2010 entitled Double-sided package for power module; U.S. Pat. No. 8,018,056 issued to Hauenstein on Sep. 13, 2011 entitled Package for high power density devices; U.S. Pat. No. 8,368,210 issued to Hauenstein on Feb. 5, 2013 entitled Wafer scale package for high power devices; U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,755 issued to Williams, et al. on Oct. 23, 2001 entitled Surface mount semiconductor package, die-leadframe combination and leadframe therefore and method of mounting leadframes to surfaces of semiconductor die. Each of these patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. From these prior references it may be seen that these prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization, and an improved power module is needed to overcome these limitations.